BearingPoint study: Powered by the people! Successful organizations are built on a resilient workforce

Management and technology consultancy BearingPoint has created a deep-dive study on enabling people to manage and embrace change to drive organizational success. “Powered by the people,” the second of five companion pieces to the 2021 “Can you thrive under pressure” study, analyzed over 5,000 projects to rank 150 leading resilient organizations. BearingPoint has also created a resilience benchmarking tool that enables any organization to assess its alignment with the five fundamental pillars of resilience.

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BearingPoint’s proprietary benchmarking tool shows that most organizations understand that success is based on empowering their people for change. Yet only 60% of organizations considered their people to be fully resilient. However, the study also concludes that even these organizations cannot afford to be complacent.

BearingPoint’s study found that an organization’s people-related strategy is vital to its overall success. Many organizations recognize that they can do more to create an environment for their people to be successful. For example, there is a clear correlation between manager autonomy and the success of transformation projects. Yet frontline manager autonomy is still low (22% in France, 19% in Germany and 30% in the United Kingdom), with communication cited as a key gap. 55% want more information during a project, 45% want clearer guidelines and desire to collaborate more, and 39% want access to specific expertise while implementing change projects. The study shows that best practice links your people to a clear purpose and vision, providing agile working models with the flexibility to respond and structured around multi-skilled teams empowered to make decisions.

BearingPoint’s research proves that an organization’s people strategy can only be successful if it is underpinned by the five dimensions of a resilient organization:

• Empower people for change: Resilient companies support their people to adapt to change and uncertainty rapidly.
• Understand the customer ecosystem: Resilient companies enable their people to understand their customers and supply chain; and they make sure their people interact positively with customers, suppliers and other stakeholders.
• Align data centricity with business outcomes: People interconnected to data and data owned by the people ought to be an integral part of understanding the role of data in supporting business decisions.
• Use technology to improve agility: Resilient companies use technology to enable people to be productive and involved.
• Build effective governance for smart decisions: Resilient companies introduce people governance for better decision-making with appropriate structures, clear decision-making processes and effective escalations.

Andrew Montgomery, Global Leader Government and Public Sector at BearingPoint, notes: “Our insights support the view that organizations which have been the most successful in retaining, developing and managing their workforce during and post-pandemic are those that have recognized the importance of resilience as a core characteristic in its people. Their workforce strategies include specific outcomes related to creating an environment where people can develop, be supported and be empowered to become more resilient. And the indicators are that investment in these areas can lead to tangible results in terms of retention, employee wellbeing and performance.”

All the categories of organizations that BearingPoint studied showed that empowering their people for change was a key element of their strategy. However, people strategies lagged behind customer strategies. There were also variations across sectors, with government organizations having lower people resilience scores than other sectors. According to the study, leading private sector companies have responded to reoccurring crises by investing more in their people and therefore have benefited from increased company resilience.

Claudia Carr, Partner at BearingPoint, says: “There are many factors which support the development of resilience within your workforce. It starts with culture and is enhanced through learning and collaboration. Resilient organizations recognize the importance of soft skills, starting from hiring and as part of continuous development programs. The ability to manage change, communicate, collaborate and problem solve are all critical skills when navigating change. We see resilient organizations as those supporting the development of these skills, not only with their leaders but throughout the organization.”

About the study

BearingPoint analyzed over 5,000 client projects, built a model to assess how organizations create successful long-term transformations, and then calibrated resilience profiles based on five observed characteristics.

To find out more, you can download the study here: https://www.bearingpoint.com/en/insights-events/insights/successful-organisations-are-built-on-a-resilient-workforce/

About BearingPoint

BearingPoint is an independent management and technology consultancy with European roots and a global reach. The company operates in three business units: Consulting, Products, and Capital. Consulting covers the advisory business with a clear focus on selected business areas. Products provides IP-driven digital assets and managed services for business-critical processes. Capital delivers M&A and transaction services.

BearingPoint’s clients include many of the world’s leading companies and organizations. The firm has a global consulting network with more than 13,000 people and supports clients in over 70 countries, engaging with them to achieve measurable and sustainable success.

For more information, please visit:

Homepage: www.bearingpoint.com
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/bearingpoint
Twitter: @BearingPoint

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Contact information

Press contact
Alexander Bock
Global Manager Communications
Telephone: +49 89 540338029
E-Mail: alexander.bock@bearingpoint.com